£29,303...Enough is enough!

WelshKitty85

Thank you both. Cold has gone. I still have an annoying cough, but feeling much better in myself.

DC3 was at the childminders again today. There were more tears when I dropped him off. When I picked him up, he was happily being held by the childminder until he saw me, then he had a little whinge. So yes, I'm pretty sure he's putting it on to make me feel bad!!

Starmummy yes I'm definitely up for trading vibes! I've sorted through loads of clothes but need to get round to actually listing/donating rather than decorating my carpet.

I have to confess to a take away tonight. After being up at 3 with DC3, sorting lunches, getting children to where they needed to be, a full days work, sorting washing, changing bedding etc...I had a bit of a tantrum when DH asked what's for tea and refused to cook. And obviously if I don't cook, nobody eats, so it was the choice between starve or order a takeaway.

Treadingonplaymobil

We had fish and chips last week. First time in sooooo long we've had a 'takeaway' meal, and it was such a joy to not have to do anything other than unwrap and eat. Sometimes you've got to have a treat.

WelshKitty85

The weather here is still wild. Hope everybody is tucked up safely at home.

I decided to apply for a new cc today for the monthly shopping. We use the current one to build up M&S vouchers, but don't really shop there. So I've signed up for one that builds up amazon vouchers instead (and at a better rate). I got £20 amazon credit for signing up and have used that to buy the brushed cotton bedding that's been in my wish list for weeks.

We're having a few house problems at the moment. The leaking pipe from last month isn't a leaking pipe at all - it's actually the roof/dormer that's leaking :eek:. We've also got a wet bedroom wall with water coming through the cladding :eek:. The roofer that replaced part of the roof & cladding last December is coming to have a look on Tuesday. We've had a blocked drain too but DH has been out in the garden in the wind and rain with drain rods and thankfully has managed to unblock that himself.

I have managed to list 3 items for sale today from the mountain on my bedroom floor. I might get a couple more listed before I go to bed.

I think I forgot to mention that I made my Christmas cake earlier this week. It smells delicious already and I'll keep giving it a little drop of brandy every week.

My savings are now at £900 - enough to cover DHs car insurance, car tax, our home insurance, and my car insurance. Its obviously great that I can pay these all up front, but I'm a bit worried that once these are all paid for there'll be nothing left in savings. I must keep hammering the survey sites and selling as much as I can to keep adding to the savings.

WelshKitty85

I can't believe it's the end of the weekend already. Thankfully I'm only working 2 days this week - partly for childcare reasons and partly because DH is taking me birthday shopping.

Lots more cooking done today: roast chicken dinner today, stew for tomorrow, cooked chicken sliced and frozen, (delicious) egg-free apple cupcakes, carrot and sweet corn fritters. Packed lunches for DH and the children sorted. But I've only just remembered that I need to eat too and have raided the bottom of the fridge and the freezer to find a small quiche, salad and cold meats for my lunch tomorrow.

I've done well on surveys sites over the last few days. I have almost £20 in PA, £10 SB and I'm inching closer to £50 YG. I'm going to try and make the most of my days off this week and see if I can cash out on PA and SB.

I'm trying to make some time for myself in the evenings and currently sat face mask on with a cup of tea and pack of biscuits watching catch up tv .

ImpulseSpender

Just de-lurking to say how well you're doing on this debt journey. Your batch cooking is making me want to cook!

Love the facemask and biscuits, I always get a facemask when I want to treat myself.

I don't do that many survey sites currently but planning on getting into them when I return back to the UK. I have tried SB recently but wasn't that impressed. Which ones do you prefer?

Treadingonplaymobil

You're doing so well! Laser focus. You'll be out of debt crisis before you know it (and long before me :rotfl: ). Enjoy your less-worky week.

WelshKitty85

Thank you both .

ImpluseSpender I find prolific tends to give the best paying surveys but I can sometimes go weeks without having any surveys from them at all. I gave up SB a few years ago as I kept getting screened out a long way into surveys. I've gone back recently when PA was really quiet and it doesn't seem quite as bad as it was and I've earned £20 in about 2 months. YG takes a while to build up the £50 cash out amount but the surveys are usually quite interesting and I never get screened out.

WelshKitty85

I finished work early yesterday as I'd completed all of my tasks. So I came home and tackled the mountain of ironing before picking up the children. Yesterday was pay day and most of my DDs have gone out, so my totals are currently looking like:

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Barclaycard....................9014.56......200... ....0
Hitachi..........................10,375.71...226 .5.. .3.4
MBNA...........................3731............50. ...... .0

Debt total = £23,121.27

Savings total = £927.37

There's still a cc payment scheduled to go out next week, so that will take me below £23k :j.

Enjoying the day at home with DC3 whilst the older 2 are at school and DH is working. He's actually just called to say he has done some work for a butcher today and they have given him some free gammon and bacon to bring home with him .

I've managed to cash out a £10 Amazon voucher from SB today which I will use for Christmas presents. I already have some books for DC2 in my watch list so I might order them once it comes through. I'm about £1 away from being able to cash out £20 from PA so am keeping a tab open to remind me to check it everytime I go online.

WelshKitty85

The weather was lovely here this morning so I put DC3 in his pram and walked to town (an easy walk there, but all uphill on the way home!). We got some errands done, collected a prescription for DC2 and stopped for baby story time at the library. I had a quick look at the community orchard on the way back but it's been completely stripped of fruit now.

I've completed a few more PA surveys and once they're approved I will have over £20 available to cash out. I've received my cheque for the bigger ppi payment now and will bank that whilst shopping tomorrow. It should more than cover the clothes I want to buy, and hopefully a bit left over to add to savings.

WelshKitty85

Well my birthday is over for another year and I was treated like a princess. My best present had to be DD setting her alarm to wake up before DC3 so that she could see to him and I got a lie in. Clothes shopping was a partial success. I got 2 dresses, 2 skirts, (much needed) underwear, and a beautiful handbag & purse. I fell in love with a Ted Baker coat that DH was encouraging me to treat myself to, but at £200 I did the sensible thing and said no. Unfortunately, despite trawling the shops, I can't find another coat I like as they just don't match up. This does mean I've come in under budget though so have transferred the rest of my PPI refund to savings.

The last DD has left my account and I've made a small overpayment so things now look like:

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Barclaycard....................8813.29.....200... ....0
Hitachi..........................10,375.71...226 .5.. .3.4
MBNA...........................3731............50. ...... .0

Debt total = £22,920

Savings total = £1000.28

I'm sooo pleased that we've reached £1000 in savings, but we will unfortunately have to dip into it soon to pay DHs car insurance. I've gone through the cc statement today as the balance is a bit higher than I've budgeted. We've spent £200 on groceries already and will need a small top up next week, so that will be slightly over budget. But fuel is way over budget already, currently at £179.73, but likely to go up before the end of the month. I think I will have to redo the budget to allow more for fuel and possibly a bit more for groceries too.